Conn. trooper seriously injured after car strikes him

Aaron Altenhein, the driver of a pickup truck whose bed liner had fallen off into the highway, was also hit

By Nicholas Rondinone
The Hartford Courant

HARTFORD, Conn. — A state trooper new to the force is in serious but stable condition at Hartford Hospital after being hit by a car in the northbound lanes of I-91 on Thursday night, state police said.

Trooper Michael Quaglioroli suffered a head injury and multiple fractures, among other injuries, Lt. J. Paul Vance said. On Thursday night, he was undergoing a CAT scan at Hartford Hospital and was being prepared for surgery, Vance said.

Vance said he was conscious and responsive after he was hit about 7:20 p.m. As of Friday morning, Quaglioroli remained in stable condition.

Aaron Altenhein, the driver of a pickup truck whose bed liner had fallen off into the highway near Exit 33, also was hit, Vance said.

Altenhein, 35, of Enfield, was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center with minor injuries, state police said.

Quaglioroli, who had stopped in the center lane of the highway and activated his emergency lights to warn motorists, and Altenhein were trying to clear the bed liner out of the travel lane when a car heading north passed around the police car and hit them both, Vance said.

"This trooper was in fact doing his duty, doing everything he could to get that debris out of the highway to protect northbound traffic traveling at 50 to 65 miles per hour," Vance said.

The driver of the car that hit the two, identified Friday as 65-year-old Ilona Gladu-Perez, of West Haven, stopped and cooperated with troopers, Vance said. She has not been charged in connection with the accident.

"Certainly we are going to examine the facts and circumstances of this case to ensure the laws were followed as they were written," Vance said.

Accident reconstruction specialists from the state police were investigating Thursday night. A portion of the northbound side of I-91 in the area of the accident was closed for the investigation.

Quaglioroli, 27, graduated from the state police academy in January and has been assigned to Troop H in Hartford for eight months.